(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a trigger sprayer apparatus of the type comprising a sprayer housing that is removably attached to a liquid container and has a dispensing nozzle and a manually operated trigger that is manipulated to draw liquid from the container and dispense the liquid from the dispensing nozzle as a spray, stream or foam. In particular, the present invention pertains to an ergonomic trigger for a trigger sprayer. The trigger has a finger engagement surface extending upwardly across the front of the trigger and a protrusion at the top of the trigger that has a finger engagement surface portion that comfortably rests on the top of a finger of the hand of a user of the trigger sprayer.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In prior art trigger sprayers employed in dispensing liquid from liquid containers attached to the trigger sprayers, the typical trigger sprayer is comprised of a sprayer housing having a nozzle for dispensing the liquid from the container, a trigger mounted on the sprayer housing for pivoting movement relative to the sprayer housing, a pump contained in the sprayer housing that is connected to the trigger for operation of the pump in response to pivoting movement of the trigger. Operation of the pump draws liquid from the container into the pump, and then pumps the liquid through the sprayer housing discharging the liquid from the nozzle in a spray, stream or foam pattern.
Triggers of prior art trigger sprayers typically have a longitudinal length and a lateral width where the length of the trigger is substantially larger than the width. The trigger length has opposite front and rear surfaces where the front surface is designed for engagement by the fingers of a hand of a user of the trigger sprayer. The rear surface is operatively connected to the pump of the trigger sprayer. A pair of laterally spaced flanges are usually formed at the top of the trigger. The spacing between the flanges is designed to enable the flanges to be positioned on opposite sides of the sprayer housing adjacent the trigger sprayer nozzle. Pivot posts are provided on the flanges and together with the flanges provide a pivoting connection of the trigger to the sprayer housing. The length of the trigger extends from the pivot connection at the top end of the trigger to an opposite bottom end of the trigger.
A principal consideration in the design of prior art triggers for trigger sprayers is the functioning of the trigger. In the design of prior art trigger sprayers it was contemplated that the manual reciprocation of the trigger on the trigger sprayer would occur for only a short period of time. Only two or three pivoting movements of the trigger by the hand of a user of the trigger sprayer are needed to dispense a desired amount of liquid, for example cleaning liquid, on a household surface such as a glass surface or countertop surface. Because the trigger was manually manipulated only a few number of times each time a desired amount of liquid was dispensed by the trigger sprayer, the comfort to the user's hand manually manipulating the trigger was not a primary concern in the trigger's design.
The use of trigger sprayers has now expanded into other areas of use where the users hand manipulates the trigger on the trigger sprayer a greater number of times to dispense a greater amount of liquid from the trigger sprayer. For example, commercial cleaning services employ trigger sprayers to dispense cleaning liquids. In commercial cleaning services a user of the trigger sprayer will manually manipulate the trigger of the trigger sprayer a significantly greater number of times than is typically the case in use of a trigger sprayer in household cleaning. The increase in the number of manual manipulations of the trigger on a trigger sprayer often results in discomfort to the user's hand due to the orientation of the trigger on the trigger sprayer. Prior art triggers typically project downwardly at an angle from the trigger spray housing and angle away from the connection of the trigger sprayer housing to the liquid container. Repeated manual manipulation of the trigger gradually moves the fingers of the user's hand upwardly across the front surface of the trigger until the topmost finger of the user's hand is rubbing against the underside of the sprayer housing or the underside of the trigger sprayer nozzle. This leads to discomfort of the top finger of the user's hand after repeated manipulations of the trigger sprayer trigger.